A Burlington man was charged Thursday after police investigated complaints of heroin being sold — a problem they say has become more common over the past year and a half.

Dwight Kenneth Jones, 58, of 1311 Kennedy Court, Burlington, was arrested by Burlington police Thursday on charges of trafficking heroin, felony possession with intent to manufacture, sell and deliver heroin, and felony possession of a firearm by a felon. He was held under a $100,000 secured bond.

Lt. Brian Long of the Burlington Police Department said investigators were tipped off about someone at the Kennedy Court house allegedly selling heroin.

“They had received several complaints from various sources with regard to the distribution of heroin from that residence,” Long said. “The complaints were not that use was occurring there, but that heroin was being sold from the house.”

Police obtained and executed a search warrant at the house Thursday before charging Jones. There, they seized five grams of heroin — exceeding the state’s trafficking amount of four grams — in addition to an undisclosed amount of cash and two firearms.

Long said the case is still under investigation.

The prevalence of heroin in Burlington is increasing, he said, citing greater accessibility to the drug as a contributing factor.

“Our investigators have really begun receiving more and more complaints on heroin distribution over the last 12 to 18 months,” Long said. “It’s not quite equal yet to the amount of cocaine complaints we get, but it’s certainly becoming more prevalent.”

There’s a correlation between abusers of opiate-based prescription drugs, such as oxycodone, and heroin users, Long said.

“There’s a lot of cases where we see heroin users also use prescription medications or vice versa,” he said. “Some become prescription medication abusers, then cycle up to heroin use.”

According to data obtained from the police department’s crime analysis division, the agency has made arrests in 12 heroin trafficking cases over the past 18 months. Likewise, Burlington police made 73 arrests on 93 charges of possession, selling/delivering and possession with intent to sell or deliver a Schedule I or II substance. Schedule I drugs include heroin, while Schedule II includes substances like opium, oxycodone and morphine.

Long said the issue “is not race- or gender-specific,” but that investigators encounter those involved in using or selling heroin “across the board.”